The Burka Avenger versus liberal patriarchy

The reason patriarchy is wrong is because it interferes with a woman’s choice. PHOTO: PUBLICITY

If you live under a rock and are still unaware of the phenomenon that is the “Burka Avenger”, please check it out.

The cartoon series is the story of a teacher, Jiya, who dons a stylised burka costume, becoming a super-heroine. Using her martial arts skills, the Burka Avenger fights evil, mainly to defend her students and the school she teaches at, from patriarchal goons who want to shut the school down.

Not only was I impressed by the message of education for boys and girls, what pleasantly surprised me was that her choice of super-heroine costume – a black burka that covers her face and incorporates a cape – is very feminine. So not only does she kick ass, she kicks ass without conforming to the mainstream view that attributes physical strength to masculinity only.

But while she’s being lauded as just what kids in Pakistan need, her burka is bothering people; specifically some liberal men. They see this as a promotion of the Islamic hijab and find it detrimental to the message of empowerment the show supposedly carries. To these men, “saving” women from patriarchy means that the burka or any other form of hijab should be banned altogether or discouraged at the very least.

I know why this is happening.

I myself was raised in quite a religious Muslim environment, so from the get go I used to believe that women should wear the hijab. Not just pious women or religious women, all women. Then, I grew older, read more, studied more, talked to more women and my views changed. I decided that I had been wrong. No, women should not wear the hijab under any circumstance, I believed. Not just ‘liberal’ or irreligious women, but even religious women. All women!

But then I really wised up.

I was able to put everything in context; the religious scriptures I had cherished when I was younger, the more philosophical mumbo jumbo that I educated myself with in my 20s, the conversations, the encounters and the incidents involving women who covered themselves, and that’s when it hit me,

“I’m a guy. Why should it matter what I think women should wear?”

So now I don’t care whether anyone wears it or not.

But to be where I am now, I had to understand something critical to dismantling patriarchy.

The natural trajectory for most men who discard their faith in a male-dominated social, religious, economic and political system is quite similar; it’s rarely – at least in the beginning – about nuance. It doesn’t immediately raise the question, “What specific mechanisms does patriarchy use to oppress women?”, but rather we first have to go through the immediate phase of, “It’s just wrong because it is.”

In time, we slowly realise an important fact; the reason we stuck with patriarchy before wasn’t just upbringing, but the fact that it gave us privileges over women that we benefitted from; privileges in social standing, in education, in employment, even in marriage and raising kids. It’s great being a man in a patriarchal society as opposed to being a woman.

The funny thing about privilege, though, is that as hard as it is to come by, it’s equally as hard to relinquish.

So during that critical phase of just having discarded patriarchy, instead of going in search of the root causes of why patriarchy is wrong and how it works, we focus entirely on the tools that are borne out of those roots and enforce the system. Hijab or burka or whatever you might want to call it is simply a tool. In and of itself, it doesn’t do anything. It’s like any other article of clothing. Some women feel happy walking around in thigh high shorts, some like to wear jeans, some prefer miniskirts and others want to wrap themselves up in dark and baggy garments that cover their entire bodies including their faces, in essence, burkas and the sort.

The reason patriarchy is wrong isn’t because it forces women to wear only the dark baggy garments and rejects everything else, it is wrong because it interferes with a woman’s choice at all. It’s wrong because whether a woman wants to wear a burka or a bikini, she has a right to do so as a human being – equal in standing with men.

So when we men give ourselves the right to tell Jiya that she shouldn’t wear the burka to become a super-heroine, we’re assigning ourselves the same patriarchal privileges that we are supposedly working against. What she should or shouldn’t wear and how it affects other women’s decision to wear or not wear the burka is for her and for other women to choose for themselves. Our job, as men, is to respect those choices personally and work to get everyone to do the same.

Dismantling patriarchy isn’t going to be achieved by opposing the tools of patriarchy alone, but rather figuring out what motivates those tools and then not just taking them away from the abusers, but thoroughly cleansing ourselves off it as well. This means relinquishing our privileges and giving up the right to tell women what they should or should not wear or do with their bodies or souls. Afterwards, when women have made those choices, respect them and their choices. Discarding patriarchy must begin with us discarding our unjust privilege of forcing our opinion on women.

We can’t defeat the villain that is patriarchy if we still have residual villainy left in us.

And if we fail at defeating our inner villains, then maybe the Burka Avenger should give us an ass-kicking too.

More by this writer

They made this into a religious issue by making the heroine wear a Burka when she has to do anything heroic.Message that the creators of the show are propagating Wear Burka=Become heroic.I grew up in a religious household,from childhood we were brainwashed into believing that ‘good’ girls always wore burkas,hijabs and any girl not covering herself up was of ‘loose’ character.This cartoon is a slap in the face of every woman who is not ashamed of being a woman,who’s not ashamed of being a female.Recommend

Beenish anwar

It’s not just the men who find this cartoon offensive,women also have brains,we also do not want anyone giving legitimacy to a symbol of oppression.All this cartoon does is tell our younger generation that a woman is only good if she is covered from head to toe in a Black cloth,that she’s only powerful when she’s in a Burka.This cartoon is more like religious indoctrination,nothing else.Recommend

Muhammad Asif Malik

What’s wrong with the Shalwar Kamiz?It’s the dress worn by the majority of Pakistani women.Why have a religious cloak as the name of the character?For how long will religion intrude in every sphere of our life.Now even our children aren’t spared.Indoctrinate them now,so they won’t object later on when u force them to wear the niqab,burka,hijab.Recommend

Really Josh,women can’t find the Burka objectionable?Do we not have the brain power to think for ourselves,or is that honour only reserved for the ‘liberal men’?Recommend

Nandita.

What is liberal patriarchy ? I wouldn’t club these two words together at all.Recommend

ZElahi

I find the premise of this article faulty. We should stop thinking that the burka/hijab is a tool for oppressing women. Just like you mention that we should respect women if they don’t want to wear the burka/hijab, we must also respect those who choose to don such garments.
As for Burka Avengers, has anyone stopped to think that this is the most easiest available form of concealment? So if we’ve come up with a local super hero who’s a woman, her most obvious choice would be a burka because nothing else would fit in with the environment she operates in.Recommend

Ali Soomro

So,if i am a man,i should keep silent and not ojbect to the islamification of my society.This will affect my daughters,my nieces.I have every right to express my opinion.Pretty sad that islamofascists are resorting to such tactics to close down any criticism of the Burka Avenger.Men have a right to speak,this affects our children also.We shouldn’t be forced to stand by silently while our children are being brainwashed.Recommend

sana

Haha the liberals lash out! I for one luv this ide having nothing to do with wearing a burqa myslf!! She luks awsum!Recommend

Asma

@Muhammad Asif Malik:
hav u ever seen superman, batman, spiderman, any other comic character fighting bad guys without a special costume????????????
NO.
wel even bat man has a burqa like cloak… which we all admire.. !
All super heros are suppose to hide their identity for GREATER good….

this is the simple reson Y Jiya(burqa Avenger) did not wear shalwar kameez during her encounters with bad guys.. and

its a free country ppl.. its the choice of Jiya to wear burqa or not.. so let her be ……..Recommend

Utkarsh

There are two things here:
1) It’s the most obvious and accepted reason that women wear a burqa not for fashion or pride but for the sake of “modesty”. This means either they’re really brainwashed and think their body is a source of sin and that they should be ashamed of it and cover it up, or their family and society members think so. This is the problem I find with the garment. I think it’s a form of misogyny and leads to the idea of women being temptresses luring innocent men into misdeeds. Women (and men) need to be led away from these thoughts and not allowed to live them for the sake of “tolerance”. Tolerance does not mean tolerating each and everything; one does not tolerate misogyny and repression of women even if the society demands it. This isn’t what democracy is about either, so stop saying it’s the will of the majority. There is a concept of human rights and in that we believe that men and women are equal and responsible citizens of a state.

2) After all that, I still think women should have the right to hijab; of course they should! But the burqa or niqab is another matter: firstly it’s taking the misogyny to a whole another level, secondly it’s a security threat.Recommend

S

I do not agree with the autohor, I think women should wear hijab or burqa but not becuase it will give me some privalage. I never think at work a women is less than me or should have less standing comapred to me in any case.

I think men have too many privlages in our society, that needs to be balanced by reducing man’s privlage, not making women naked.

@Beenish do you think those who wear burka or hijab dont have brains? or do you think they are less educated then you? Recommend

Abdul Basit

Great! Religion now being shoved down our children’s throats in the disguise of a cartoon show.Recommend

Nabila Rao

Burka,Hijab,niqab,abaya are all tools of patriarchal oppression imposed on women.This whole fixation with ‘modesty’ that is used to brainwash girls in Pakistan is highly dangerous.There is nothing ‘immodest’ in being a woman,there’s nothing shameful in having a female body.Recommend

Ahmed

Why do liberal even talk about religion?Why?When obviously they haven’t studied it. Just like they say that children are brain washed to follow Islam, the liberals have been brainwashed into believing that religion is oppressive. Whereas if they just start THINKING they will realize how Islam is more than what they know of it. How the things that are forbidden are for their own good and the good of the society. I’m not calling liberals to start following Islam just asking them to THINK!Recommend

Mudasir Ale

It’s cute the kinds of problems these liberals have. :D You’re worried about your children being brainwashed into thinking piece of cloth defines one’s character? LOL

And to those who find the idea of hijab absurd or ‘symbol of oppression’, Muslim women in France pay fines to wear hijab you burger mailas! Leave it to the women what they want to wear, even if you’re a women, you don’t represent the opinions of all the women! Recommend

Humaira Siddiqui

Religious misogyny is acceptable misogyny.Give patriarchy and misogyny a religious context and everyone will run out to defend it,make excuses for it.Recommend

Muhammad Usman Ghani

ET comment moderators are behaving like comment nazis. They are blocking comments which have no profanity,abuses.ET management needs to take a look at their comment moderators and the pro-islamist bias of the moderators.They’re letting through one or two comments of liberals to show they have no bias while blocking most of the liberal commentators,even where no harsh,abusive language has been used.Recommend

Umar chaudhry

Will ET give bloggers space also in its blogging section?ET regularly runs pieces by islamist apologists,why not some balance?Recommend

Umar Chaudhry

This is ridiculous.The comment moderators deleted the word ‘atheist’ from my last comment.Now the comment makes no sense.Atleast the moderators should read the comments after they’re done editing to make sure it still makes sense.Now it just says ‘bloggers’ instead of ‘atheist bloggers’.Atheophobia at its height.Recommend

Parvez

You obviously have worked hard on your line of reasoning and the blog reads well.
My objection is that the two most used words were liberal and patriarchy and if my memory does not fail me France is both liberal and non patriarchl……..and yet they have laws banning the face veil. Please note I am only questioning your line of reasoning and am open to correction.Recommend

momo

well, what about the women who cover BY CHOICE and who’ve been denied proper/adequate representation in mainstream media? what if they see this as a representation of their narrative? so by not letting them have it would then be oppression too. nuance is a thing, learn it.Recommend

http://blogs.tribune.com.pk/author/430/faraz-talat/ Faraz Talat

The author is wrong because..

Patriarchy isn’t just about women making their own choices. If a woman chooses to stand by her abusive husband who beats her every night, would you honor her self-destructive decision as ’empowerment’?

Of course, the right of a woman to wear a burka is unquestionable. The feminist or liberal argument is that this should simply not be encouraged, out of concern for the garment’s capacity to restrict one’s mobility as well as social/communicative freedom.

.

Liberals opposing the cartoon are wrong because..

This show does not ‘legitimize’ or ‘promote’ burqa. The protagonist does not wear the burka to become pious, or to honor cultural norms; she does it merely to conceal her identity when she’s out doing some serious un-ladylike crime-fighting. Otherwise, in the daytime, she’s a perfectly burka-less school teacher.

To me, it’s a powerful artistic statement: using an oppressive garment in a way entirely opposite of how it’s intended to be used.Recommend

http://blogs.tribune.com.pk/author/430/faraz-talat/ Faraz Talat

Pervez,

France is not a ‘liberal’ country. Like any other, it has both liberal and conservative elements.

French liberals are actually opposing the face veil ban. The restriction was implemented allegedly to appease the anti-immigrant right-wing.Recommend

Laila

Not true at all. She does even bigger greater deeds without burka. She literally wears burka to HIDE her identity as it is the most logical thing to use @Shumaila Khan:Recommend

@Parvez:
Just because it is France does not mean it is liberal. Please get it out of your head that:
Islamic: Non-liberal
Europe and America: Liberal.

There are conservatives everywhere. But i don’t think you would know anything about that. Because for you the criteria for judging liberalism and conservatism is as i mentioned above.Recommend

ALI

@Shumaila Khan:
pls do not blame the immorality of a family that u belong to, to your religion, what shariah gives you will never be given by any other, why is it that showing parts of body a necessary part of being modern and enlightened why is it always veil and hijab why is it not the rights of women the right of inheritance not important to you, if you find peace in sleeveless and duppata less dresses no one on the road will stop u or blame u for anything, whose stopping you go on, make yourself comfortable.Recommend

Muhammad Ishfaq

In both India and Pakistan when film actresses have to visit a public place and they don’t want to be seen or recognized, “Burka” is the first thing that comes to their minds. They wear it not because they are Islamist, but because that’s the easiest, readily available and most suitable guise for women in the subcontinent. Simple as that.
Our liberals need to get a life…seriously. Despite all their education, broad mindedness, their faith in humanity they come out as people suffering from acute myopia; every comment they make spits venom against Islam…Why?
Does being liberal mean one must hate the religion???? Recommend

KAY

burka is the only and best option for this cartoon female character.Recommend

Sundas

@Beenish anwar:

Really? So just because you don’t wear one means you can get more air into your head, and hence, you have a more intelligent brain? I’ll tell you what, we women have brains and we detest being told by MEN AND WOMEN what is more intelligent. It is women like you, ma”am, who are no better than the typical patriarchal-stereotyped men.

To the writer, i LOVED your piece. I’m sorry so many people here will take it out of context and present their ideas, showing how much of it they did not understand. Lovely writing and i wish we had more people like you-both men AND women.Recommend

Saima

@Parvez:

France is not LIBERAL because it TELLS women what they can and can not wear.
Ours is a more liberal society. Walk around all burqa clad or half naked, no one can come up with an excuse to arrest you. Recommend

Does the burka avenger need to be accompanied by one male member of her family while fighting crime?Recommend

Khan of Kalabagh

if BATMAN wears his Pathetic Cloak….he is coooooool and CATWOMAN wears obnoxious Dress to Conceal their Identity then they are Surely IN but if our Heroine chooses to wears Burqa then its unacceptable to us wow, please present your viewpoint but do reach to the actual message of the cartoon as envisioned by the creators of the cartoon series.Recommend

Nimrah khalid

There are two kind of views that dominate the discussion.
1. Women who claim that they are proud of themselves and are not ashamed of being a woman and thus they choose not to cover themselves. In other words,are you saying that those who choose to wear hijabs and Burqas are somehow “ashamed” of themselves? Are they less “intelligent” then you?
I don’t think so.

2. Men who are afraid that this a way to “Islamify” the society.Do they know how beautiful this society would be if it were, as they said, “Islamified”?.
P.S: burqa/ hijab does not define “ISLAM”, it is merely a part of it.

For all the people who find burqa and hijab such an important issue, I would like to say, Covering themselves or not is a private matter between a woman and her creator, it would be better if you stop judging people what they choose to wear or not..
PEACE OUT.Recommend

obsever

What she should or shouldn’t wear and how it affects other women’s decision to wear or not wear the burka is for her and for other women to choose for themselves. Our job, as men, is to respect those choices personally and work to get everyone to do the same.

This argument makes perfect sense in vacuum of Outer Space and closer home, in those parts of planet Earth where citizens, including the female of the species, are by and large left to their own devices.

In localities where Constitutional provisions decide who is a ‘Full Citizen’ and who is not. And even amongst ‘Full Citizens’ which ones are ‘Non Profligate’ and ‘Peaceable’ and which ones can be elected for what, the sudden profusion of ‘Pro Choicers’ sends up red flags by the dozens.

Let us be under no illusions it is not about Empowerment, It is not about Choice, It is about promotion of Virtue minus the Mutaween.

Here let me share a secret with you. My child was a fan of Popeye the Sailorman. And of course he swore by the virtues of Spinach, I was complicit in promotion of this belief.

And recall your own childhood, didn’t you equate the Burka with virtue? How do you expect other impressionable youngsters to escape this, unless of course, in each episode they have a disclaimer saying that the lady is equally empowered without the Burka and can fight evil equally well even in shorts and a Tee Shirt.

Are the makers of the Comics up to it?

And is there a proposal to lock the Mutaween away to ensure Free Choice in matters sartorial?

Moderator ET- The elephant in the room stays right there, even after you have buried your head deep in the Holy sand.Recommend

Parvez

@Faraz Talat: Thanks for that. Your stand on France being liberal is a bit iffy but thats beside the point. The issue was of the liberals opposing the veil ( as you have said ) and is what I was trying to draw the authors attention to as it contradicts his logic.Recommend

iSee

My beloved liberals, let me ask you something. How many of women do we see walking around on the streets of Karachi (since it’s supposed to be a relatively modern city in Pak)? May be 20% of them, right? Wearing burka has rooted inside our society so deep that it has become a cultural practice rather than the religious one. You will hear people saying, Oh, look at that women! Kitni be-haya aur be-sharam he khulay bal aur beghair burkay k ghoom rahi he! That ghairat and haya, too, is a part of our culture.
Will come to the Burka Avenger now. Who are the possible targeted audience of the Burka Avenger? Of course, those who oppose the female education (again, on cultural grounds!) and almost all of them happen to be pro-burka. If anybody has been into the marketing/media field, he/sh knows that what really attracts the ‘consumers’ of a ‘propaganda’ is the compatibility of it with what the ‘consumers’ value. Morally and democratically, 20 – 30% of population has no right to take away the choice of the 70-80% of the population.
Now, if we look at ground realities, we can easily figure out that opposition of the female education is the biggest issue than wearing Burka (even though it’s not even an issue for the majority lot). Burka Avenger carries a strong message hidden in that very Burka you have been bashing. Recommend

MJ

a good write up i would say.

its funny how we are feeling threatened by a comic hero. i think we should be glad that this comic is going to break the stereotype that women in islam are supposed to stay within four walls of the house esp if they wear burka and can only come out for some mundane activity or shopping. she can be out, have a profession and when time demands act as a warrior. we were never bothered by the costumes of catwoman or other female characters from western comics. lets broaden our horizons. liberal should mean that we are open and expecting of all kinds of people in the society.Recommend

sabahat

Though wearing burka/hijab is considered good in our society, truth is we cannot judge a women by her dress code, no matter what she wears, at the end of the day its one’s character and purity of one’s heart that matters and it cannot be attained only by a burka/hijab.
Once we purify our hearts, choosing the dress code would become way easy.
And I don’t find Burka Avenger offensive to women, it’s just a matter of perceptions. Lets appreciate the fact that we finally have a super heroine instead of a super hero. :)Recommend

@Beenish anwar:
right
and what does “johnny Bravo” tells our younger generation???what type of indoctrination is that??
problem is, that you just cant hide/control your bias and hatred towads religion which leads you to illogical assumption n extremism.Recommend

The Saint.

I have few observations;

1- It seems like burqa is a forced costume and that by men, whereas, the majority of the women take burqa by their choice, as an identity and also many of them feel more secure. do a little research, many of you dont seems to know about Bohra jamaat.

2- Lashing the burqa user and supporters, seems a mirror image of those lashing the non burqa users and supporters, I dont see any difference between them, both of them forcing their narrow opinions on others and that by force…..liberal Talibaans.

3- It is the first time some one has used burqa as a positive symbol of society, and all those liberal women who are feeling bad should also know the feelings of women who observe hijab, when these hijab observer women are talked about and treated as women with no power, identity and opinion. Burqa avenger has given them something to cheer about.

4- Societies in developed world are peaceful, just because they are tolerant and not because they oppose burqa or other religious symbols and believes, likewise, the peace in our society lies in a tolerant behavior, neither in forcing the women to observe hijab nor forcing them to throw it away, similarly neither in forcing our opinions on others nor taking practices of others as offensive to your own life.

5- Why only men is taken as symbol of cruelty against women, take any case and you will find the arguments in the same direction, while women is always taken as symbol of weakness, I just wonder about, who then is that person called “mother” in our homes?, she is literally the ruler, the commander of the males in the home, all the boys obey to her, all the girls work according to her rulings, and the daughter in-laws have their issues with her. I think the relation between men and women has been limited to husband-wife issues……….think about it.

Sigh! Seriously all this over a piece of garment?? It’s a CARTOON for crying out loud, and considering she’s uncovered as her normal self, and only wears the burka to conceal her identity n do some super-butt kicking, not to become super pious n travel to Makkah for pilgrimage, it shouldn’t really be a big deal!!! She actually looks awesome n it doesn’t look anything like the offensive Afghani shuttlecock burka! I mean honestly what were the ‘liberals’ expecting, a Wonder Woman type costume in Pakistan?? Just think of it as a desi female version of Batman’s costume :)
I also don’t get ET bloggers’ and commentors’ fixation with women’s clothes..not a month goes by without at least one hijab vs. Non-hijab debate, and that blog gets the most hits and most comments! It’s getting old really, all the arguments have been heard a billion times.
Just live, and let live.. Sheesh!!Recommend

Aseer

would it do if the burqa had been more colourful, something like a fashionable piece of clothing yet being conceling? i dont know maybe liberal women (sane and righteous) fear burqa cuz it just seggregates you down in this society where all educated and empowered women choose to stay away from burqa, though most of them stick to headscarves and all. anyways! of the LIBERAL MEN now bhai what’s ur point haan? stay away from it dude cuz if ur really liberal at heart and soul then it’s a win-win situation for u bhai jaans. if ur sisters, duaghters, wives, niece and all wear hijab it’s there choice, nothing harmful u can buy them beautiful laced and fashionable hijabs, y? can’t u? and if they don’t theor choice still. Recommend

We have substituted morality with religiosity and lost our soul in the process. None of this has happened in a vacuum. In fact, one could even argue that our collective inability to define religion’s role in public life is premised on our inability to decide what role religion should play in our personal lives.

Now, do ponder- Does the Burka promote ‘religiosity’. And is the present debate being ‘Honest’ about the issues involved?Recommend

http://ppnclassifieds.com/ Arisha Naz

Post free classified ads in Pakistan to buy and sell used or new items like houses, cars, mobiles etc. Also find latest jobs in private sector to secure your career.Recommend

Parvez

@Saima & @ Silas both of you seriously need to remove your blinkers.
My argument was related to the logic used by the writer and what I have tried to say is that DESPITE France calling itself liberal, it still banns the veil.
Now onto your dragging this into a liberal comparison between Pakistan and France…….your contention is ridiculous. So France banns the veil in public and you label it non-liberal while in Pakistan Muslim kills Muslim because they can not tolerate each others belief of the same religion and you call this liberal………..and this is only one example.Recommend

http://blogs.tribune.com.pk/author/430/faraz-talat/ Faraz Talat

Pervez,

Understandable. Just for the record, banning face veil isn’t classic liberalism, even though some liberals can assume this stance. Generally, liberals have a low tolerance for the government banning anything.

I’m a liberal, for instance, and I’m strong opposed the public face veil ban.Recommend

KAY

I have never seen a women running in a burka!! This cartoon will be good for a laugh.Recommend

Parvez

@Faraz Talat: One mans meat is another mans poison………..let’s give it a rest.Recommend

http://www.rawanonline.com Esmael

Religious and traditional patriarchs: We decide what women should do!
Liberal patriarchs: No, we know the best for them.
Where are women to tell both these groups: Shut up!? Recommend

Midhat

@Author
Thankyou for writing this. I don’t wear burka but as a liberal I do believe that no man or woman should object to a woman’s choice of attire. If burqa is her believe than more power to her, if not than its equally fine. And yes I loved how they should a woman in burqa as a strong superf hero breaking all the stereo types!!
As for Pakistani liberals : Let it go!n you dont need to take offense at everything that is religious!Recommend

Wajahat

If it is the right of every liberal person to voice their concern against Islamification of the society as they call it, than it is also my right to work for the Islamification of the society. I support girls wearing burka and I am proud of it.Recommend

Ahmed

Wearing ‘burqa’ is a choice that a girl/woman has to make on her own.
The dress is not to define the level of intelligence of a girl/woman. I have seen women wearing ‘burqa’ or ‘naqab’ much more influential and intelligent than the ones who don’t.

This debate should be on women rights and equality; not on comparing brain levels of ‘burqa’ women and ‘non-burqa’ women.Recommend

Asad Ali

@Muhammad Asif Malik:
What do you mean by religion indoctrination? I’m certain, deep down in your heart, you truly are acquainted with the truth of what you’re actually pointing at. Of course, shalwar kameez is acceptable in the society where people are educated and have HAYA in their eyes. But yet again, people won’t refrain from gawking the girls who’re not covered, because it’s in the nature of men. And this is the issue which invokes other unacceptable acts in the society. And this can only be rectified by wearing Hijab, people are less likely to stalk veiled women than unveiled. Recommend

FSY

@Muhammad Asif Malik: Religion SHOULD govern every sphere of our lives! Afterall, it is a way of life and the best one at it!Recommend

FSY

@Abdul Basit:
I really cant see y anyone should have a problem with jiyas attire! Whts wrong with a superwoman wearing a burqa!! It just goes on to show that wearing a burqa empowers a woman and is in NO WAY demeaning or opresssing!! Any woman who wears it can vouch for this! I for one definitely can!! Jiya is just a very cool hijabi! Recommend

Z.

Nobody should have a problem with ANYBODY wearing ANYTHING.

I don’t understand how this Burqa Avenger is brainwashing the the toddler generation but large billboards showing half-naked Lawn models around the country is not.
If anything, this is teaching little girls to make their own choices regardless of what people think.

There was a time we would (rightfully or not, I don;t know) condemn the extremist behaviour of religious fundamentalists… however, reading these comments and people’s approach to this harmless piece of cloth makes me realize that instead of eliminating extremism, we’ve adopted it ourselves and are feeding it with unnecessary maliciousness.

Grow up people, you’re all educated. Don’t argue only for the sake of arguing, this doesn’t make you appear “open-minded”, in fact proves the opposite.Please don’t make it seem as though education creates no difference.Recommend

Abdul Rafay

in this Burka Avengers every one notecing the Burka and pass comments in such words that he/she is very well known the depth of Burka and have a qualified in his/here theory
Can any one of you tell me the real meaning of Burka and Hijab if know then what is the difference b/w them. any of us know the real and perfect place of Girl,women in Islam do we have worth to comments on burka
My dear respected brothers and sisters the burka avenger what is means……?
we should think why we use the such words in Darams programs and movies which have a very strong worth in islamRecommend

someone

If people understand the psych behind the creation of burqa or weil, they would understand what was it for.It was needed in a medieval society where men would fought over women and kill each other. For a society where there were no laws and women were considered a property. Having a beautiful wife could put the life of a man in jeopardy. So the burqa was invented. Cover the woman. No one would see and no one would fight for her or put a claim causing a fight.Is the society the same now? Are there no laws to control that madness? Are men in south Asian societies still the medieval in thoughts? Do they still consider women as property?Recommend

iq

in Quran suraaha Noor is approximately remove your all complaints especially liberal about what to do or not.. inshaAllha you will find your answer.. if u are serious as much as you show In your messages and if u have conscience….Recommend

Wahab SAYED

The comments made by most of the people are about burqa, women empowerment, patriarchal society, men being dominant, women being oppressed, burqa being imposed as the symbol of piety.

I don’t know how many of you watched the episode but i did, i think if anyone has watched cartoons or have read the marvel or dc comics, all superheroes hide their identity. the cartoon does not implement that wearing a burqa will make you pious or a good woman, instead it emphasis on women being educated. The burqa being a traditional dress and as it covers a person identity has been used to cover the characters identity.

The only critic that i have is that, the first episode gave me a feeling that it does not want to incorporate the concept of Tauhid into the young minds. The song at 14:41 clearly states that Ali is your imam, then you shouldn’t have any worries.” It would have been correct if Allah’s Subhanaotallah was considered rather than one of the greatest Islamic personalities. The idea of Tauhid needs to be made clear to the young minds.

This point of mine can be considered as orthodox, but the fact is that this very show would be viewed by hundred of young minds, and this massage would be fed in their subconscious or conscious mind. I think Burqa is not our immediate concern, it is the message that needs to be looked at. Recommend